Little Fires Everywhere: Arson, Surrogacy, and Safe Havens

[摘要] Novel written by Celeste Ng. New York: Penguin Books, 2017. 352 pp. $12.75. Miniseries written by Liz Tigelaar, Nancy Won, Raamla Mohamed, et al. Directed by Lynn Shelton, Michael Weaver, and Nzingha Stewart. Original Release Date on Hulu: March 18, 2020.arson: abandonmentchild custodySafe Haven lawssurrogacyAs the title suggests, Little Fires Everywhere has literal and figurative connotations. The story begins and ends with the same scene: small fires that were mysteriously set in a large, seemingly happy household in Shaker Heights, a unique suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, during the 1990s. The town of Shaker Heights serves as one of the characters, more so in the novel than in the miniseries. Celeste Ng, the author who grew up in Shaker Heights, quoted an article called “The Good Life in Shaker Heights” from the March 1963 issue of Cosmopolitan. Life in Shaker Heights was further described in the first chapter: “Shaker Heights was like that. There were rules, many rules about what you could and could not do …. A helpful chart from the city categorized every home as a Tudor, English, or French style and laid out the appropriate colors for architects and homeowners alike” (p 9). The city's motto was, “Most communities just happen; the best are planned” (p 10).

[学科分类] 儿科学

[关键词] arson abandonment;child custody;Safe Haven laws;surrogacy